Day Trip (in Memory of Mary Butters)

A film by Richardson, Brennan & Doran

12 - 20 May. Daily 2:00 - 5:00 pm (except where stated)

Location Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast

Premiere of NIMHAF film exploring myths and combining a specially-commissioned script, archive as well as new footage. 

Film Premiere: 11 May, 8:15 pm.  
Subsequently the film will be shown every hour on the hour at Crescent Arts Centre from 2:00 - 5:00 pm except on the following dates: 
Fri 19 May, 2:00 - 3:00 pm &
Sat 20 May, 10:00 - 3:00 pm.

Working with director Dawn Richardson, artist Jonathan Brennan and the Digital Film Archive, writer Paul Doran has developed a specially-commissioned script for NI Mental Health Arts Festival about the ways in which myths are created and how they live alongside those who experience and remember their stories.

Daytrip (In Memory of Mary Butters) looks at how myths are created and what they can tell us about the way our minds work.

We follow a group of people remembering a trauma from their childhood. They have revisited it many times. At first apart, then together as a story, turning the events forwards and backwards across the years until they have formed a mystic ritual that connects them with deeper, older scars. 

The connections between lived mental health challenges, half-remembered stories and the intangibles of intergenerational trauma forms the backbone of the story. Echoing the wider experience of the Northern Irish Troubles and how its many traumas are remembered, retold and processed.

The film is an artistic and poetic treatment of archive material and original footage that brings modern folklore together with locations that have a much older significance. The piece explores ideas such as psychogeography and hauntology, and how these are reflected in Northern Ireland’s more recent history. This has been achieved through collaborations with the recipients of NI Mental Health Arts Festival’s Artist Residency – EG Dunne, Brian Coney and Ben Harris – over four days in the Sperrins, County Tyrone. Also by working with culture bearers the Armagh Rhymers. 

The film is narrated by BBC Radio Ulster’s Steven Edward Rainey and features a soundtrack from the archives of Belfast-based record label Touch Sensitive Records. Paul Doran is NIMHAF Artist in Residence throughout the festival 11th-21st May 2023

Made possible by the support of Film Hub NI, part of the BFI Film Audience Network, awarding funds from National Lottery; The Baring Foundation; Northern Ireland Screen Digital Film Archive; and Mental Health Foundation.

Pay what you can

Check out the 2023 Festival Programme

Text from NIMHAF website